First Time

Ari sighed and sat down in the sand. She dug her bare feet into it, wrapped her arms around her legs, and rested her chin on her knees. Her worn-out, torn jeans were too big; in the past month, she had lost nearly 10 pounds. As a gentle spring breeze lifted her dark hair off her face, she watched the kids running along the beach. Her heart ached to run with them, but she couldn't find the energy. One of the boys got shoved down, then looked up at her. With a start, she realized she had been staring at her neighbor; she figured she was one of the few who knew his real name. Everyone just called him Rip because of his incredible surfing abilities.

He got up and walked over to her just as a few tears slipped down her cheeks. The two were both 15, with Taylor being by a couple months the older of the two. She looked up as he sat down, and without thinking leaned her head on his shoulder. Her long hair hid her face and she finally cried tears that had been welling up inside of her. Finally, she quieted, but did not lift her head.

"This is really comfortable," she said quietly.

"Yeah..." he said just as quietly. After a moment, he gently lifted her chin. "Ari... I've been wanting to ask you for ages... will you go out with me?"

Ari's heart nearly stopped. Taylor, the most popular person in their Hawaiian school of magic, was asking her out. Ariana was fairly popular as well, but they had completely different groups of friends. Taylor was tall, thin, muscular, tanned, with sandy blond hair and blue eyes. Ari was tall (for a 15-year-old girl--she was about 5'6"), tan, thin, with dark hair and blue-green-grey eyes. Where Taylor was thin from sports, Ari was thin from being a fairly picky eater with a very quick metabolism. The only time outside the classroom the two ever crossed paths (besides at home; their mothers were friends) was during Quidditch. Ari was usually in detention anyway; her mother frequently referred to her daughter as having a free, funloving spirit, the kind her dad had. The dad she never knew... but clearly looked like, talked like, acted like...

She bit her lip, meeting his gaze. "Yes," she said finally, and without warning, Taylor kissed her. It was a soft, gentle kiss, and when he pulled back, Ari was breathless. "Oh."

Taylor smiled, then took her hand, helped her up, and handed her the bag she had dumped carelessly in the sand. "I was wondering if we could study together from here on out," he asked, ignoring the stares from his friends as he shook the sand out of Ari's flip-flops.

Ari returned the smile. "I'd have to say yes," she replied as he slipped his hand free and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. She slid her arm around his waist and leaned on him; this was going to be the start of something special, and both of them knew it.

The following spring, their relationship was going strong. They had not yet made the leap into the physical, but were as close as anyone could possibly be. One evening, they were walking along the beach, and Ari was kicking her feet in the waves. The sun was slipping into a brilliant Hawaii sunset, and the light played off Ari's hair. She was still extremely skinny, maybe even underweight; even her mother (who was herself small, though not nearly as much as Ari) couldn't get her to eat foods that could possibly lead to some small weight gains. It wasn't that Ari didn't want to gain weight, she didn't want those foods.

Her hair was down to her elbows, and had flowing waves that rolled through the thick lengths. As she kicked her feet in the waves, she looked up at Taylor. "Tay... where do we go from here?" she asked quietly.

"Where do we go?" he repeated, watching the salty spray soak her jeans up to the knees. "Is there something you want to do?"

She stopped, and pulled him back. As they stood there, Taylor realized the change that had occurred in her over the last year. Ari brought her lips to his and he pulled her close. "Yes," she whispered. "There is."

"You're sure?" he whispered in return. They had talked before about whether or not to delve into the physical side of relationships, and many times had agreed no. Ari had never been sure whether or not she wanted to give up that precious gift.

"Yes," she replied as they locked eyes. A few people walked past them, and as they held each other close for a few moments, Taylor realized what had changed. There had been disturbing news from "back home" for both of them, Britain--word was the terrifying wizard that had forced the two families to flee was back and just as powerful as ever. Ari was realizing how fragile life was, she had said not long ago that she was in even more danger than Taylor. She couldn't say why, she just knew, deep down, there was something of hers that Voldemort was after.

"C'mon," Taylor said finally. They walked down deserted streets toward home, and Ari spoke up again.

"Tay, I'm sure. I've never been more sure about anything."

Taylor's eyes glazed over with unconcealed lust. They slipped unnoticed into his empty house and up to his room, where he set down several charms and laid her back on his bed. He pulled her into a passionate kiss and slowly undressed her. First came the salt-water-soaked jeans, then her tank top. She pushed his t-shirt off as he leaned over her, then his jeans, before he pinned her arms over her head and kissed her passionately.

The next thing Ari was aware of was the sharp, stabbing pain. Tears flowed freely down her cheeks, and Taylor kissed each one away. He gently ran his hands over her body, still amazed at how perfect she was. Slowly, the pain ebbed away, replaced by sensations more intense than Ari could have ever imagined.

It was all Ari could have asked for and more. When Taylor rolled off her and onto his back, she instinctively snuggled up to him. Taylor smiled as he ran his hands through her hair; the feelings coursing through him were deeper than lust. No... that act... that was a statement of love, not the rough, brief encounters he heard so much of. Ari returned his smile. She knew without asking what he was thinking, because she was thinking exactly the same thing.

Without a thought, without a fear or a blink about what her mother would think, Ari cuddled down under the covers. There in Taylor's arms, she was safe. Finally, she had found what Abby had so often spoken of--the love that left you knowing but still innocent. Rain began to fall softly, and Ari let the quiet sounds of it lull her to sleep.